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Friday, October 16, 2015

Tonga: Walkabout Hunga

Despite “dry season,” this rain barrel

on Hunga was overflowing.

We arrived in Hunga Lagoon
on a bright, sunny afternoon.That
evening, we were dazzled by a brilliant sunset.Both were sorely missing when we were anchored outside
Tonga’s “big city” of Vava’u, Neiafu with overcast, rain and the sun getting
swallowed into cloudbanks cresting the harbor’s low mountain ridges at sunset.

The next morning, we were
itching to get off the boat and explore Hunga.Barry of Hunga Haven ran down the list of hiking and
snorkeling options.We decided to
start off with a ridge walk to the beach, followed by a trip to Hunga village.

Post set up for fence crossing in Hunga
road. The fence is there

to keep
animals from crossing the “road,” not humans.

The skies became
progressively more overcast.The
overcast delivered sprinkles, then more serious rain (though anything remotely
approaching the intensity of French Marquesas Daniel’s Bay [click
here for more about that fiasco Fire & Flood] would’ve prompted us to
return post-haste).Wayne popped
his umbrella; I donned my windbreaker, hood and all.Still, the beach wasn’t very inviting in a squall, so we
headed back.

“Mark the spot where you exit
the trail onto the main road,” Barry advised.Sage advice, we gratefully followed.It was indeed easy to miss the return
trail from the road. Thanks to
Barry’s advice, we saw the re-entry to the trail down to Hunga Haven’s beach,
where we’d parked our dinghies.

Pleasant hike to one of Hunga’s
beaches. As Wayne’s

umbrella and the gray skies indicate, not a great

beach day when we hiked there.

By the time we reached the
re-entry trail, the rain subsided. We headed for Hunga village.

“It’s the second biggest
village in Vava’u, second to Neiafu.There’s five churches there,” Barry informed us.“But don’t be surprised if you hardly
see anyone.Many cruisers report
they’re disappointed,” he cautioned.

Naively, we hoped for a
small shop or little restaurant where we might enjoy a cold beer, Steve also
hoped for a little ice cream.

Indeed, there were few folks
out and about as we passed the village’s neatly kept homes. We saw the usual
pigs and piglets, chickens and roosters, churches and more churches.Every residence, no matter how small or
ramshackle, was supported by a stout solar panel, all identical in design.The same was true of the smaller
villages near Port Maurelle.A
sign credited Japan for funding solar power “clean energy.”A bit cynically, we wondered what Japan
got in return.Fishing rights in
Tongan waters?Support votes
coinciding with Japanese interests in the United Nations forums?

On recess; Hunga primary school kids hamming it up

for the cameras. After primary, schooling
is in Neiafu

during the week, then home for weekends and holidays.

It was recess when we passed
Hunga’s primary school.Many of
the kids raced to the fence to say hello and pose for photos.

Homes.Churches. A school.No stores, much less any restaurant or
snack bar.No cold beer and definitely
no ice cream.

We walked to the road’s
summit, before it plunged steeply to the town dock.Wayne joked if it was California, it would be the perfect
place for skateboard daredevils.

A local man engaged us in a
friendly conversation while he waited the appearance of the ferry.He told us all food from the outside came
via the ferry to and from Neiafu, which made the trip every Monday, Wednesday
and Friday.What goods weren’t
carried by hand, were transported by the two trucks in the town.There were no cars.The road, he explained, was funded by
India.He leaned against the
raised barrier which extended down both sides of the road, creating a sluiceway
to channel water from serious rainstorms into Hunga Lagoon.

A steep, short paved portion or road,
from Hunga’s

dock to town for ferry deliveries.

We asked him about Hunga’s
school, the one we’d just passed.

Once the children finished
primary school, he informed us, the rest of their school was Neiafu-based.The children spent weekdays on Neiafu,
returning home to Hunga for weekends, holidays and vacations.He confirmed there was indeed no place
to wet our whistle – no stores, snack shacks or restaurants.

We asked him if he was
waiting for his wife to arrive by ferry with beer, for him to carry back.He laughed, good naturedly, with an
easy smile. Wayne promised we would not turn the local kids onto skateboards,
for careering down this perfect skateboard ramp.He laughed some more.We thanked him for the conversation, admired the beauty of “his” island,
and pleasantly parted ways.

View of the “false pass” entry to Hunga
Lagoon, from the road leading down to

Hunga’s town dock. Pretty place to run aground. Enjoy it from inside the lagoon!

We were disappointed we did
not find a cold beer in our travel to Hunga village, a place to lounge on the
beach or a good viewpoint (lacking due more to weather than anything else).Nonetheless, we appreciated the walk,
and a little peek into a life quite different than our own.It’s big part of what intrigues us
about cruising internationally.

Location Location

This post was finalized and
posted in Neiafu, TONGA (S18.39.443 W173.58.965) and was inspired at our recent
stay in Hunga Lagoon (S18.42.066 W174.07.551),Tonga’s Vava’u island
group, where we’re currently cruising.

Cruising Progress by the Numbers

As of our start, December 7th 2014, from Jacksonville FL NAS, USA until our current
(October 15, 2015) travels around the Neiafu, Tonga are -- 10 months, we’ve spent about a third of our time --125 days -- sailing
and covered ~8,750 nautical miles. The prior 2 years combined, we sailed 3762
miles. By the time we
arrive in New Zealand in November,
less than a year from when we set out, we
expect we’ll sail over 10,000 miles this year. That’s a lot of
miles for a boat with a hull speed of 7 knots; we usually sail far slower than
that.